Getting Your Skin Ready for Summer

Do you like to spend your summer outdoors? Like most Charleston residents, you probably spend most of your time soaking up the sun and enjoying the sea salt air. No matter your complexion, it’s vital to prepare and protect your skin for the harsh UV rays of summer’s sunshine.summer skincare

Luckily, it’s neither difficult nor expensive to prepare and protect yourself from the sun. In addition to preventing damage to your skin, you can even correct damage and wear to your skin that has happened over the years! The best results require a physician who specializes in skin care and can offer skin rejuvenation techniques like hydrating skincare products and laser treatments.

Hydrating Skincare Products for Summer

Routine skin care for summer weather is something you can do at home. There are many different kinds of products that are effective. You need products that do two kinds of things: prevent sun damage and hydrate drying skin. Fortunately, there is a wide array of hydrating skincare products recommended and used by doctors. LUCA™, for example, is a UVA/UVB sunscreen that is very effective for short and long wavelength ultraviolet protection. Jane Iredale is another excellent choice for sun protection.

Skin Rejuvenation

Repairing sun damaged skin can be done with IPL (intense pulsed light) treatment, and is one form of skin rejuvenation. It does not use a laser – instead, a flashgun is used to give intense, multi-wavelength bursts of light. This differs from a laser, which uses a single wavelength of light. Also, IPL usually uses wavelengths of 400 nm to 1,200 nm with filters that block shorter (ultra-violet) wavelengths. Some kinds of sun damage, like brown spots and red vascular lesions, can be corrected. Skin pigmentation is made more uniform and redness is reduced with this skin rejuvenation solution. Treatments are non-invasive, quick, and nearly painless.        

Other types of advanced treatments for correcting sun damage are available. One of them is PicoSure, which uses laser light in extremely short pulses one picosecond, otherwise known as one trillionth of a second, in duration. The PicoSure technique is useful for correcting brown spots from sun damage and can also stimulate collagen synthesis, making for younger looking skin. The technique also has some use in smoothing wrinkling caused by sun exposure.

CoolSculpting

Cryolipolysis, or CoolSculpting, is a technique using cold temperatures to remove stubborn fat. The problematic areas in question are targeted in order to direct the temperature directly to the fat cells located underneath the skin. The technique is non-invasive, FDA-approved, and essentially painless. The cold is used to freeze and kill fat cells and the body subsequently absorbs them. But what does fat removal have to do with summer-ready skin? Removing fat can improve your skin’s appearance while also removing baggy or sagging areas. Adopt your summer wardrobe with confidence!

Whatever you decide to pursue as preparation for your summertime activities, know that the options for preventing and treating sun damage are more varied, and more effective, than ever. With the proper treatments, you can significantly improve both your skin’s appearance and its health while improving your appearance.

A picture of Patrick J. O’Neill, MD wearing his doctor attire.

About the Author

Upon completing medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC, Dr. O’Neill completed nine years of residency training. These nine years included a full general surgery and a plastic surgery residency, both at the Medical University of South Carolina, and a hand and microsurgery fellowship at the Kleinert Institute for Hand and Microsurgery. Dr. O’Neill has extensive certifications, training, skills, and knowledge that make him a successful physician who can carry out your next plastic surgery procedure. His expertise and technique will result in the beautiful and natural look you desire post surgery.

Board Certified:
American Board of Surgery
American Board of Plastic Surgery
Sub-Certification in Hand and Microsurgery

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